1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in a connector means disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,812 to the same inventor as this application, such as is used in a weaving machine or the like, wherein a bearing means and/or a wire connecting mechanism is used to join a wire or a machine element to a different machine element.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In, for example, a generally known weaving machine of what is called the negative type, the connecting wires or cables are connected to a harness frame at their one ends, and the other ends of the wires or cables are joined to one end of a bracket of the connector means which is provided with a pair of spaced-apart side plates. The shedding lever of an actuating device, such as the Dobby machine, for the weaving machine is provided with a curved portion for holding a bearing means. On the other hand, the bracket of the connector means has a bearing means interposed between both spaced-apart side plates thereof in the other end. This bearing means is unmovably engaged with and held in the abovementioned curved portion of the shedding lever. Both side plates of the bracket have a supporting shaft means caulked across them at their one ends, and this supporting shaft means is inserted through a shaft hole in the central portion of said bearing means, whereby the bracket is connected to the shedding lever of the Dobby machine.
In the conventional connector means of the foregoing construction, however, no provisions or arrangements are made for satisfactory lubrication between the outer circumferential surface of the supporting shaft means and the inner circumferential surface of the shaft hole of the bearing means. This is a disadvantage of the conventional bearing means used with the shedding lever of the Dobby machine. Therefore, such means have been desired to be proposed.
Moreover, in the conventional connector means, in order to connect each wire extending from the harness frame, to the connector means, an end portion of the wire is inserted into and fixed to a base portion of the connector means. A connecting pin mounted on an end portion of the connector means is received in an engaging notched portion of a pivotal extension of the bracket. However, in this prior art arrangement, the rotational movement of the shedding lever causes the connecting pin to turn within and relative to the engaging notched portion which results in abrasion of the connecting pin which leads to breakage thereof. This also is a disadvantage of the conventional connector means used with the shedding lever of the Dobby machine.
In order to overcome the foregoing disadvantages of the conventional connector means, a variety of proposals have been made such as, for example, the wires are fixed to the bracket by winding the wires directly into the bracket and securing the wires within the bracket. However, these proposals have not met with success, since the connector means becomes complicated in construction, and the bracket and wire assembly must be replaced with a new one if the wires become cut or damaged.
In the first cited U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,812 to the same inventor as this application, an improved connector means was provided in which the foregoing disadvantages and problems of the conventional connector means are removed. The connector means of the present invention is further improved to provide satisfactory long-term lubrication between the outer circumferential surface of the supporting shaft means and the inner circumferential surface of the shaft hole, and also to provide the prevention of early breakage of the joint between the bracket and the connecting wire, easier replacement of the connecting wire, and to eliminate the necessity of replacing the bracket itself with a new one at the time of the wire replacment.